The week dedicated to the Sardinia Region at the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka concluded last Saturday, June 28th, with the future Einstein Telescope (ET) gravitational wave detector, which Italy is a candidate to host in Sardinia, taking center stage.
In particular, three events featured the ET project and the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), which is one of its main scientific promoters at the international level: one focused on Sardinia as a territory of science, another on Italy-Japan scientific collaboration in gravitational wave research — with the participation of Japanese Nobel laureate Takaaki Kajita — and a third, organized by the Ministry for Made in Italy (MIMIT), which discussed the economic aspects and business opportunities related to the ET project.
«Italy, and Sardinia in particular, are strongly and seriously applying to host major projects like the Einstein Telescope», declared Mario Vattani, Commissioner General for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka. «Expo 2025 Osaka is the ideal stage to update, in an integrated way, our country’s image in the world. The Italy Pavilion is an outpost for scientific diplomacy, as demonstrated by the presence of many experts taking part in our panels, including Nobel Prize winner Takaaki Kajita».
«This important occasion strengthens our collaboration with the INFN for an ambitious project like the Einstein Telescope, for which the Region of Sardinia has already invested around 500 million euros», commented Giuseppe Meloni, Vice President of the Sardinia Region. «The Sos Enattos site has unique features that make it the most suitable location to host a project that would add to those already present: the ARIA infrastructure and the Sardinia Radio Telescope. Investing in technology for us means attracting talent, boosting employment, and strengthening our communities».
With the goal of showcasing Sardinia’s already alive scientific ecosystem and presenting it to the international audience at the Expo, the Sardinia Region, in collaboration with the INFN, organized the event “Sardinia. A territory of science”, held on June 25th at the Auditorium of the Italy Pavilion. The event included two round tables: the first focused on Italy’s candidacy to host the ET and the fruitful research collaborations between Italy — particularly Sardinia — and Japan. Speakers included Michele Punturo, researcher at the INFN Perugia section and coordinator of the ET scientific collaboration; Monique Bossi, infrastructure manager of the ETIC project funded through the Italian NRRP by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR); Alberto Masoni, researcher at the INFN Cagliari section; and Takayuki Tomaru, director of the Gravitational Wave Science Project. The second one offered an overview of ongoing research projects in Sardinia, such as the ARIA experiment for the distillation of argon-40 (a key element for dark matter research, especially within the DarkSide experiment at the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory), introduced by Alessandro Cardini, director of the INFN Cagliari section, and the Sardinia Radio Telescope, one of Europe’s most important radio telescopes, presented by Federica Govoni, director of the Cagliari Astronomical Observatory of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). Opening this second session, Andrea Contu, researcher at the INFN Cagliari section and scientific lead for ET Sardinia, presented the unique characteristics of the Sardinian site — from its low seismicity and minimal anthropogenic noise to its ability to attract scientific partners — which make it the ideal location for the ET. Nobel Laureate Arthur McDonald, strongly involved in the ARIA project, also confirmed the site’s suitability in a recorded statement for the occasion, offering his support for Italy’s candidacy in light of the outstanding research quality he has directly experienced.
«INFN’s participation at Expo 2025 Osaka was a valuable opportunity to present, in a top-level international setting, Sardinia’s candidacy to host the Einstein Telescope, along with two other major research projects underway in Sardinia: ARIA and the Sardinia Radio Telescope», emphasized Alessandro Cardini, director of the INFN Cagliari section. «The events we took part in, enriched by the presence of Nobel Laureate Takaaki Kajita, also highlighted the strength of the scientific collaboration between Sardinia, Italy, and Japan, whose strategic importance is particularly evident in gravitational wave research», Cardini concluded.
Staying on the Nobel theme, on June 26th, the VIP Room of the Italy Pavilion hosted Nobel Laureate in Physics Takaaki Kajita, together with Takayuki Tomaru, Michele Punturo, and Helios Vocca, professor of experimental physics at the University of Perugia and INFN associate. The event, titled “Italy and Japan in the worldwide gravitational wave network LIGO-VIRGO-KAGRA and Einstein Telescope,” allowed speakers to delve into current and future challenges in gravitational wave research and the synergies between Italy and Japan in this field. Kajita, in particular, highlighted the contribution of the experience and technologies of KAGRA, the interferometer of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research at the University of Tokyo, to the Einstein Telescope.
«I am very happy to have participated in the event hosted at the Italy Pavilion at Expo2025 Osaka on scientific cooperation between Italy and Japan in the field of gravitational waves, because I believe collaboration between our two countries is truly very important», commented Nobel Laureate Takaaki Kajita in an interview following the event. «One of the candidate sites for hosting the Einstein Telescope is Sardinia, which we understand to be an excellent site for installing an underground gravitational wave interferometer due to its very low seismic activity and minimal underground water. Therefore, I believe Sardinia is indeed an excellent candidate site for the Einstein Telescope», Kajita concluded.
On the topic of synergies, this time industrial rather than scientific, these were the focus of an afternoon meeting organized by the Sardinia Region in collaboration with MIMIT, aimed particularly at Japanese companies potentially interested in investing in Sardinia. The Einstein Telescope offers many opportunities in this regard, as illustrated by Alessandro Cardini, Alberto Masoni, Takayuki Tomaru, and Michele Punturo.
With the Einstein Telescope, Italy is investing not only in the study of the universe and the opening of new frontiers in research. With the Einstein Telescope, Italy is investing in its territory, its growth, and the enhancement of its resources. It brings in new ones, nurtures talent, builds networks that reach overseas, and generates a positive impact on daily life and society as a whole.